This invention relates to a method of identifying a nonparaffinophilic microorganism using various milieus and an associated apparatus.
Identification of nonparaffinophilic microorganisms in a clinical specimen is an important part of medical treatment of patients. Often times, educated guesses as to the nature of the microorganism involved are made. It thus would be beneficial to improve the process of identifying these microorganisms with a simple, effective method and apparatus.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,153,119 and 5,316,918 disclose methods and apparatus for identifying and testing the antibiotic sensitivity of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare ("MAI"), a paraffinophilic microorganism. The inventor named on those patents is Robert-A. Ollar, one of the co-inventors of the invention disclosed herein. This method involves providing a receptacle containing an aqueous solution and inoculating into the solution a specimen. After this, a paraffin coated slide is placed into the receptacle. The slide is then observed for the presence or absence of growth of MAI.
Despite the efficient, effective and economical method disclosed in Dr. Ollar's patents, there still remains a need for a simple and effective method to determine the presence or absence of a nonparaffinophilic microorganism.